The Day Before Cross Country

The highs and lows of competition have constructed in me into an entirely new athlete. My first year of track and field and I made it to Far East by qualifying in the 4x800 relay. I guess you could call it beginner's luck. I would call it dedication and confidence. After almost a week of running and jumping events, the time has come to announce the winners of the banners. With the awkward silence sitting and waiting for the results to be told along with the rest of the crowd, the announcer finally broke the silence. “The D2 Girls Track Champions of 2015 is Zama American High.” This one night as emotional as an groom seeing his bride walk down the aisle knowing that she is all his. Have you ever wanted to take a moment and breathe in the air of accomplishing your

The final seconds of a cross country meet when you are sprinting down the straight away, looking at the finish line, trying to beat just one more person, is one of the most mentally and physically exhausting moments I’ve ever encountered. In the Fall of 2014 things just clicked with our girls cross country team. Winning Bi-county, Conference, Sectional, and advancing to Regional and Semi-state, was unexpected to everyone around us. Losing five of our seven varsity runners the year before got us moved from our small school rank of 3rd to 13th. Getting moved ten spots on that list motivated us even more to prove to everyone what we could do without those graduated seniors.

I’m not going to lie, I was so nervous standing in front of my coach, but as he had introduced himself I knew I wasn’t going to be a—quitter. Though I’m not the slimmest of all runners, I was going to prove to myself and to everyone else that a chubby girl like me can run!

Twas the night before track meet day. My parents and I proceeded to Dick’s Sporting Goods and we purchased state of the art bright baby blue spikes. I was joyous to use them to run the 100 meter sprint the next day. I would finally be able to make my time faster. The next day approaches and I can’t contain my excitement. The whole time at school all I can think about is the race. School ends and I embody race mode.

In the year of 2017, the month of May was the upcoming state meet held in the lower south of Georgia. Being a 17 year old who is very arrogant about her work that she’s accomplished on the track. La’Necia was only weeks away from the biggest meet of her life, “crunch time” like her coach would always say. Practice after practice,pop off after pop off, and hurdle after hurdle knowing very confident that she was ready for the race. She thought to herself “there’s not anyone that can stop me from winning first place at this meet.”

We were out for vengeance, and as the first heat came to a close, the three remaining teams lined up. Our team was Brandon Reid starting off the blocks, Isaiah running the second leg, me securing the third, and Bawa trying to end the race in strong fashion. As I loosened my legs up, the gun sounded, and I watched Brandon get off to a quick start. Before I knew it, Isaiah was 10m behind me and was ready to pass the baton. As I grabbed the baton from Isaiah, I noticed I was a few meters behind a kid from Avon. Never, ever again I thought. My legs planted and exploded off the ground in a simultaneous motion. I was like a cheetah chasing after a gazelle. As the wind blew through my cleanly cut hair, I began to close the gap between myself and the man ahead. In the closing 20m, I tried my hardest to catch the Avon kid, but I couldn’t. As I passed the baton to Bawa, my heart sank. As my chin dipped to my chest so I could only notice the ground, I realized I did not run the fastest 100m. At the end of the race, we finished second behind Avon, again. My arms tensed and my stomach dropped. Losing to Avon was the worst possible ending to my track season. However, my head would be picked up by a more important event that followed days after the Founders League Tournament.

Just before we arrived at the meet Coach Tuch had asserted to the team, “This is it, the day we have been training for guys. You truly need to give this one your all.” As soon as I knew it we were there. I felt like throwing up and crying all at the same time. It was cold, windy, and dry. The course was rough. As Shelby and I were warming up for our race we both knew that this was going to be one of the most challenging race of our lives. We were done and the race was about start as I heard Sydney yell, “ You got this girls let’s go!”

I felt the dread sink like a rock in my stomach. My two brothers, Ryan and Matthew, were on the opposite end of the spectrum. My mother had been telling us for weeks that we were going up to the farm that my family owned, but I didn’t quite believe her until today. My brothers were given dirt bikes last Christmas while I was given a ATV. Both of them had been counting down the days until they were able to finally ride the dirt bikes and that day had come. After everything was packed, I crammed myself in the van with my brothers and hoped for this trip to end quickly.

The pregame music felt as if it was vibrating and bouncing off of our bodies and the smell of food was circling the entire stadium. Walking down the flights of stairs to get onto the playing surface was a moment I will never forget. The atmosphere was incredible. Since we were early to the game, we were able to see both teams warm up and go through their pregame rituals. Also, during that time, we were able to take pictures, talk to other people, socialize, and enjoy leisure time with the coaches. At kickoff, we headed to our stadium seats to watch and enjoy the game.

Once upon of time there were these two boys that ran cross country their names were Amar and Will they both ran for Tupelo High cross country team,and they were the top 7th grade runners on the team. Will was a bit faster runner than Amar although Amar would run and train hard he just could not yet run as fast as Will but that would one day be his goal but for now that would have to wait. Competition season was fast approaching, our first real meet was the last Saturday of the month of August. The day of the race Amar was full of nerves because this was his first real race,yes he had trained but he had never ran against other schools. Amar thought to himself this is no Will, there are so many kids from other schools to try and

“Hey, good job. Forget about today and just prove yourself at the next meet. It’s your last chance”, my dad said with his deep voice.

The weather is perfect for racing: not too hot, not too humid, not too windy. I dash down the twisted trails in the woods, trying not to stumble on the gnarled roots protruding from the dirt. My spikes puncture the soft earth with every stride, and my legs repeatedly pound on the ground, soreness surging through them. As sweat trickles down my face and dirt smears across my aching calves, I ascend a steep hill, trying to bring forth the strength I have accumulated throughout endless hours of practice. Now that I am nearing the final two hundred meters, I must force my body to begin sprinting. Breathing heavily, I dart for the imminent finish line, trying to beat the uninterrupted tick of the timer. Even though the crowd surrounds all around me, I can barely hear their animated cheers, because all I can focus on is crossing the line before the girl next to me. I can feel adrenaline surging through my body, and I widen my stride to cap off the remaining distance. When I glance at my Garmin watch, a new personal best time flashes across the screen. I realize that all of the gruelling work I have put in is worth the final result: happiness. (Snapshot Lead)

Hundreds of family and friends drive hours just to see a eighteen minute race with the possibility of winning being slim but, knowing this race can change someone's life. We get to the meet earlier than we should’ve thinking the traffic would have been horrible on the day of the State Cross Country Meet. Off in the distance we see big fancy busses with tons of runners from experienced facilities stretching in nothing but, the newest brand of athletic clothes. Feeling insecure about our ability to perform as everyone else that earned their spot their.

Touchdown after Touchdown, point after point, but I sat motionless on the couch, like a sack of potatoes, trying not to miss a minute of the action. The day felt like it would never end.

I stepped out of my mother’s car into the sweltering summer air. I was nervous and sweat dripped from my forehead. My mom walked me up the concrete steps and onto the track where the coach was waiting. It was the first official day of 7th grade cross country practice. I had no idea at the time, but this was the beginning of a journey that would help me to develop into who I am today.